Joint Standing Committee on Insurance and Financial Services

S T A T E O F M A IN E D E P A R T M E N T O F P R O F E S S IO N A L A N D F IN A N C I A L R E G U L A T IO N B U R E A U O F C O N S U M E R C R E...
Author: Grace Price
3 downloads 0 Views 282KB Size
S T A T E O F M A IN E

D E P A R T M E N T O F P R O F E S S IO N A L A N D F IN A N C I A L R E G U L A T IO N B U R E A U O F C O N S U M E R C R E D IT P R O T E C T IO N 35 STATE HOUSE STATION A U G U S T A , M A IN E 04333-0035 Paul R. LePage

William N. Lund

GOVERNOR

SUPERINTENDENT

TO:

Joint Standing Committee on Insurance and Financial Services

FROM:

William N. Lund, Superintendent Bureau of Consumer Credit Protection

RE:

Foreclosure Assistance and Referral Program – 27th Periodic Report Covering 3rd Quarter, Calendar Year 2016

DATE:

November 30, 2016 INTRODUCTION

Title 14 M.R.S. §6111 requires mortgage lenders and servicers to provide a “notice of right to cure default” (also referred to herein as a “default notice”) to any homeowner who is behind in mortgage payments, prior to commencing a foreclosure action in court. The section further requires the lender or servicer to notify the Bureau of Consumer Credit Protection of each defaulting homeowner’s name and address, so the Bureau can mail an informational letter to the homeowner, advising the homeowner of the availability of state resources to assist the homeowner with the pre-foreclosure and foreclosure process. Title 14 M.R.S. §6111(3-B) requires the Bureau to draft a quarterly report to the Joint Standing Committee on Insurance and Financial Services listing the number of default notices sent to Maine residents by their lenders. The report must also include information on foreclosures filed by state-chartered banks, using information provided by the state’s Bureau of Financial Institutions, as well as information on the types of creditors that are initiating foreclosures (e.g., national banks, non-bank mortgage companies; investment trusts). DEFAULT NOTICES MAILED TO HOMEOWNERS The Bureau mailed packets of informational material to 5,807 homeowners who received notices of right to cure from their lenders during July, August and September of 2016. The mailings by county are broken down in the following chart:

PRINTED ON RECYCLED PAPER

PHONE:

(207)624-8527 (Voice)

OFFICES LOCATED AT: 7 6 N O R T H E R N A V E N U E , G A R D IN E R , M A IN E MAINE RELAY 711 INTERNET: www.Credit.Maine.Gov

TTY USERS CALL

FAX:

(207)582-7699

County Androscoggin Aroostook Cumberland Franklin Hancock Kennebec Knox Lincoln Oxford Penobscot Piscataquis Sagadahoc Somerset Waldo Washington York Total

Jul-16 Aug-16 Sep-16 152 192 211 46 93 108 279 342 308 43 46 33 62 65 59 155 176 154 46 41 26 82 73 59 118 122 117 199 228 241 17 33 24 89 74 96 74 85 89 54 78 57 44 57 47 340 407 335 1800

2112

1964

The next chart shows the breakdown of notices sent by type of entity.

Type Federally Chartered Banks Non-bank Mortgage Company Securitized Pool State Chartered Banks Federally Chartered Credit Unions Private Mortgage Lender State Chartered Credit Unions Total:

Jul16 866 372

Aug16 923 267

Sep16 1003 381

198 157 59

529 181 102

223 157 87

59 20

90 20

96 17

1731

2112

1964

The last chart in this section shows the number of notices filed by each type of entity as a percentage of the total number of notices filed for the quarter.

The number of notices sent for the third quarter of 2016 is consistent with the number for the same period one year ago, when lenders and servicers mailed default notices to 5,728 packets Maine homeowners. FORECLOSURE CASES FILED IN COURT During July, August and September of 2016, lenders and servicers filed 633 new foreclosure cases in Maine courts, a reduction from the 891 in the prior quarter. This marked the first quarter since the fourth quarter of CY 2014 in which the number of foreclosure filings decreased. The information for the foreclosure filings for the last year is contained in the following chart:

Region/Court STATEWIDE TOTAL Alfred Superior Court York District Court Biddeford District Court Springvale District Ct. Region 1 Subtotal Portland Superior Ct. Bridgton District Court Portland District Court Region 2 Subtotal South Paris Superior Ct. Auburn Superior Court Farmington Sup. Ct. Lewiston District Court Farmington District Ct. Rumford District Court Livermore Falls Dist. Ct. South Paris District Ct.t Region 3 Subtotal Skowhegan Sup’r Ct. Augusta Superior Court Skowhegan District Ct. Waterville District Ct. Augusta District Court Region 4 Subtotal Dover-Foxcroft Sup. Ct. Bangor Superior Court Millinocket District Ct Dover Foxcroft Dist. Ct. Lincoln District Court Newport District Court Bangor District Court Region 5 Subtotal

4th Qtr Oct-Dec 2015 547 9 5

1st Qtr Jan- Mar 2016 705 18 7

2nd Qtr Apr- Jun 2016 891 43 15

3rd Qtr Jul-Sep 2016 633 23 14

19

31

42

27

119

29 62 50 25 0 75 5 12 6 35 9 16 0 11 94 11 16 26 22 24 99 1 14 0 11 9 17 37 89

45 101 78 24 0 102 10 15 4 51 20 5 0 11 116 5 15 29 19 39 107 1 21 0 17 10 20 45 114

46 146 112 32 0 144 17 20 3 56 12 19 0 15 142 12 19 44 23 34 132 4 32 0 8 14 16 54 128

32 96 57 20 0 77 9 13 4 38 14 12 0 10 100 10 11 18 20 31 90 1 19 0 10 13 17 54 114

152 405 297 101 0 398 41 60 17 180 55 52 0 47 452 38 61 117 84 128 428 7 86 0 46 46 70 190 445

TOTAL 2776 93 41

Region/Court Wiscasset Superior Ct. Bath Superior Court Rockland Superior Ct. Belfast Superior Court Belfast District Court Wiscasset District Ct. West Bath District Ct.t Rockland District Court Region 6 Subtotal Machias Superior Court Ellsworth Superior Ct. Bar Harbor District Ct. Machias District Court Calais District Court Ellsworth District Court Region 7 Subtotal Houlton Superior Court Caribou Superior Court Caribou District Court Houlton District Court Madawaska District Ct. Fort Kent District Court Presque Isle District Ct. Region 8 Subtotal

4th Qtr Oct-Dec 2015 7 2 7 4 16 13 10 12 71 2 7 0 8 4 12 33 3 15 1 1 0 1 3 24

1st Qtr Jan- Mar 2016 7 4 3 7 14 10 20 6 71 5 4 0 11 4 19 43 3 37 2 2 0 2 5 51

2nd Qtr Apr- Jun 2016 4 8 8 6 25 15 28 12 106 5 7 0 7 7 23 49 6 28 2 5 0 2 1 44

3rd Qtr Jul-Sep 2016 9 3 5 6 9 12 19 13 76 3 9 0 11 6 22 51 5 16 3 2 0 0 3 29

TOTAL 27 17 23 23 64 50 77 43 324 15 27 0 37 21 76 176 17 96 8 10 0 5 12 148

The number of cases filed in the third quarter of 2016 is higher than the same period last year, when 520 foreclosure cases were filed in court.

INFORMATION FROM NATIONAL SOURCES In its National Foreclosure Report for September 2016, Corelogic, a global property information and analytics company, reported that the national foreclosure inventory – those homes in some stage of foreclosure – dropped 31% from a year previously. Maine’s foreclosure inventory, while still among the highest in the country, dropped to 1.8%, from 2.1% in 2015 and 2.7% in 2014.

In addition Maine’s “seriously delinquent rate” – those loans 90 or more days past due – dropped to 3.8%, down from 4.9% a year ago. Unfortunately, even with the drop in the seriously delinquent rate, Maine still ranks second in the country for the percentage of loans seriously in default.

STATEWIDE OUTREACH PROGRAM During the third quarter of CY 2016, counselors under contract with the Bureau undertook representation of 239 homeowners who were in the process of foreclosure. This number is little changed from last year, when the counselors initiated services to 251 new homeowners. During the third quarter, counselors under contract with the Bureau assisted 59 homeowners to obtain resolutions that allowed them to remain in their homes. Forty-five homeowners received modifications of their loans; six households were able to bring their loans current; 4 refinanced their defaulted loans or obtained a reverse mortgage; 3 obtained a forbearance agreement through which repayment of their loan arrearage was deferred; and one received a partial claim payment from a loan guarantor to bring the loan current. In addition to results that allowed homeowners to remain in their homes, the counselors also assisted 13 homeowners with foreclosure alternatives, thereby minimizing the effects of the loss of their homes. Six homeowners resolved their foreclosures by executing a deed in lieu of foreclosure to the lender, and two were able to sell their homes through short sales. In the case of both deeds in lieu and short sales, any deficiency balances on the loans were waived. Finally, 5 homeowners were able to sell their homes and pay off their mortgages in full.